On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, a list of issues with the Catholic Church, to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany sparking the Protestant Reformation. From Romans 3, we will study what may be the most important development of the Reformation, Justification by Faith

The Christian Family Tree Sermon series is a study of the Unity and the Diversity of the Christian Denominations

Oct 22 – Predestination or Free Will? - Ephesians 1:3-14

Has God already decided who is going to heaven or do people freely choose to follow Him? In 1618, at the Synod of Dort, the Reformed theologians came down squarely on the side of predestination and condemning those who believed in free will. What can we learn about this controversy from Ephesians 1?

September 10 - Pope, Presbytery or People? - Matthew 16:13-20

The Great Schism of 1054 was the first major split in the Christian Church. One of the issues that brought about this division was the question of Papal Authority as argued from Matthew 16. Since then, three forms of church government have emerged - Anglican, Presbyterian and Congregational. Who should rule the church – Pope, Presbytery or People?

Oct 1 - Views of the Lord’s Supper - 1 Corinthians 11:17-26

In 1529, Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther met at Marburg to discuss joining forces in the Reformation. They agreed on everything except for one thing, their view of the Lord’s Supper, and with that the Marburg Colloquy came to an end. From 1 Corinthians 11, can we determine the correct view of the Lord’s Supper - Transubstantiation, Sacramental Union, Spiritual Presence or Memorial?

Sept 24 - Views of Baptism - Acts 8:26-40

Martin Luther wasn’t the only reformer of his time. Shortly after his stand against the Roman Catholic Church, a new group emerged, the Anabaptists. These people believed that baptism should be by immersion and only for those who profess faith in Christ. In 1527, in cruel retaliation, Felix Manz was executed by drowning for this belief. Can we derive from Acts 8 the proper time and mode of baptism?

Oct 8 - Church and State - Romans 13:1-7

In what was known as the Act of Supremacy of 1534, King Henry VIII proclaimed himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England breaking with the Pope in Rome. With this decree, he became leader of both the country and the church. How are we to understand the church’s relationship to the government based on Romans 13?

Oct 15 - Dying for the Bible - 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The Bible you hold came at the price of many lives. In October of 1536, William Tyndale was burned at the stake for heresy. One of his alleged crimes was translating the Bible into English so that any Englishman could read it taking control of the Scriptures away from the church and putting it into the hands of the people. 2 Timothy 3 tells us of the many uses of Scripture and its true origin.

Oct 29 – One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? - John 17:20-23

The Thirty-Year War (1618-1648) may have been the bloodiest conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholics. This flies in the face of Jesus’ prayer “that all of them may be one” in John 17:21. The Nicene Creed calls for “One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.” Can we achieve this vision of Christ and the early Church Fathers?

Please join us Sunday mornings at 11:00 am for this educational and edifying series or listen to the weekly sermons using the links below.

All recorded sermons in this series from the previous weeks are available below for your enrichment and edification: